I'm not sure if some crazy, bird, karma, thinghas presented itself since moving to this house
19 months ago, but I can tell you
that I have more bird stories than the average Jane.
First it was the very fat and proud papa quail
that strutted along the top of the wall
pretty early in the morning watching over his
"ladies" and chicks
with an amazing screetch that reminded me of
that little horn on your trycicle,
except it distinctly sounded like
"where RRRRRRRRR you?"....
NOT amusing at 5 in the morning.
But I forgive him. Live and let live.
They are so funny to watch and I will brake in a heartbeat
when they decide to run in front of the car.
Then the Spring-Summer Episide of SIX FRUITING FIG TREES...
where every bird in the county came to dine,
shove each other around, and make one $*%^#$% of a mess
on the patio and patio furniture.
The biggest fights took place directly outside the bedroom windows.
My least favorite visitor was the "Screaming Peckerhead"
(No, that is not the official name, just a pet name:may you be so lucky as to not have such a pet)
who would bully all the sweet finches with his size
and horrible squawking scream.
Thus the name.
Red on his head, and gorgeous stripes,
most assuredly a pecker of some sort.
If he wasn't bullying the finches he was drilling off the little yellow,
bee-stoppers in the hummngbird feeders and slurping up enough of the
nectar to feed the entire Western hummingbird population.
I confess I often had evil thoughts with regard to
his...ummm...departure.
But, truthfully, he would come and he would go....
he had a lot to do, evidently in any given day,
so he wouldn't stay around so long to encourage me
to act upon my evil thoughts.
I will even admit that I laugh when I hear him screaming several houses away as I have come to know his pattern.
That brings me to the RATS WITH WINGS.
More commonly known as Mourning Doves.
That sounds nice, doesn't it? Mourning Doves.
Well, they don't sound nice (day in and day out)
and they absolutely have nothing better to do than hang around,
make nests everywhere including the gutters,
behind bushes on your hybiscus bush,
on top of patio columns, inside the tiles of the roof.........
all these places I have had to chase them from.
It's the damage they seem to do that I can't reconcile I guess.
All the while I keep encouraging them to make a nest in the trees
but so far they are not taking the advice.
There are plenty of trees around us here. It just makes some sort of sense to me. And the mess.........sigh.
However, the latest adventure was downright creepy.
The weather has finally cooled down. We can actually open
the windows now and enjoy the fresh, cool air.
Imagine finally sleeping with the windows open and needing the comfortor because of natural coolness not the 'electric kind' that costs more than I used to pay for rent!
Anyhow, I digress.
Light out, eyes closed, I hear a sound that made my hair stand on end.
I swear I didn't breath for a full minute and I heard it again.
My brain did a super-speed scan of the memory bank and I jumped out of bed knowing full well that it was that crazy owl from LAST fall.
Except this time he had a friend.
Yessirreeee, two for the price of one this year ladies and gents.....
and now pay very close attention to what I am going to say.
If you are an owl lover I suggest you stop right now and head to another blog. BUT, if you feel you might need to know how to restore the peace and quiet of slumber when owls have decided to hunt outside your bedroom window, or if teeny Fido or little kitty likes to go out in the yard at night...listen up.
Keep a very strong flashlight on your bedside table. Make sure you have fresh batteries. Keep slippers, clogs, whatever nearby so you can slip them on and head right outside (with your flashlight)
Zero in on the the noise (because, trust me, they don't stop just because little 'ol you is standing out there in the dark on the ground)
shine that light as high up as necessary,
which is usually the top of the tree) and shine that light
on those big eyes that see so wonderfully in the dark,
and in a huge flurry of wings that scare the bejeesus out of you, they decide to take the party elsewhere. And guess what?
Unlike the rats with wings, they don't come back!!
Now THERE'S a smart bird.
Thanks to Michael J. Hopiak for the photo of the Great Horned Owl.
1 comment:
Oh, you have me rolling over here...too funny. I know it's not funny for you but reading all of your descriptions had me cracking up. The only bird story that I have is sometimes they get stuck in our garage but they eventually find their way out. I know, not as exciting as your stories :o)
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